The difference in performance between Game Five and Game Six of the NBA Finals could not have been more stark for San Antonio's Manu Ginobli, and you could see it on his face - the Argentinian guard sat at the post-game press conference after a punishing 103-100 overtime defeat and looked as if he'd seen a ghost - he just may have.

"Bad. Very bad. It's a tough moment. We were a few moments from winning the championship, and we let it go. I have no clue how we're going to be re energized. I'm devastated but we have to. There's no game eight afterwards. We're going to have to play our best game, even better than today. Shoot better, better defense, less turnovers in my case, but yeah, there's no secret recipe for bouncing back."

Tim Duncan, who scored exactly half of Spurs' 50 points in the first half but added just five more in the second, said that "Manu will be good. He'll be fine." But you have to wonder after watching the veteran guard speak early on Wednesday morning after the 103-100 defeat. Duncan added:

"It's obviously disappointing having the lead we went into the fourth with. The opportunities we had to close it out. It is what it is, It's a one game series now."

As explosive as LeBron was in the fourth quarter, King James would be fielding different questions if not for Ray Allen, who pulled him and the Heat out of the fire with his game-tying three pointer with just seconds remaining in their season.

Said Allen of the game-tying shot:

"It's going to be a shot I'm going to remember for a long time. There's a lot of shots I've made in my career but this will go high up in the ranks because of the situation."

"It's tough, but believe it or not I work on it quite often. I try to put my body in precarious situation coming from different parts of the floor, different angles to try to get my momentum moving forward. I honestly can say I gave myself a great opportunity, a great chance to make that shot. And it wasn't unfamiliar to me personally. When it went in I was ecstatic. But at the same time I was expecting to make it."

As far as James' performance, Allen makes it clear that "everything we do starts with him," and LeBron was well aware of the magnitude of the victory on Tuesday.

"It was by far the best game I've ever been a part of. The ups and downs, the rollercoaster, the emotions, good and bad throughout the game. To be a part of something like this is something you would never be able to recreate once you're done playing the game."

A chuckling James added: "So I don't care how the hell we've played so far. We could have played the worst six games of our lives, but we got a Game Seven on our floor. So Thursday is for all the marbles...It's the last game of the season. You have to muster up all the energy that you might have. It's not about X's and O's at this point. They know what we're running. We know what they're running. We know their personnel. It's about getting stops defensively, staying in it mentally, not turning the ball over, and making a few shots. The best team will be crowned Thursday."

Then LeBron tried to get up and leave, but not too fast - King James had stiffened up. Laughing, he remarked "I'm going to try and leave real soon," with a wide smile.

Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade talked about what was missing from LeBron:

"I've never seen him play without his headband for so long, since his rookie year."

"I've never wanted to play a game seven so bad. When you're out there and you're losing, you will do anything to get to that next game and this is what it's all about. The two best teams in the NBA have to fight it out in a game seven....It's going to be a great game. You will have two teams who won't give up until the very end."